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Match Point Photos

Movie Info

A clandestine love affair sends one man's charmed life into a tailspin in this dark, disturbing drama written and directed by Woody Allen, his first film set and shot in Great Britain and one his few films sans any humor. Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is an Irish tennis player with an impoverished background. Just accomplished enough to make his way onto the professional circuit, but not skilled enough to be a consistent winner, he now works as an instructor at a London tennis club. The wealthy Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), who is as impressed by Chris's charm and good looks as he is by his game, takes a tennis lesson from the young man. Chris's intelligence and wit also make a strong impression on Tom's pretty sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), who soon falls for him. It isn't long before Chris and Chloe are engaged to be married, a match that pleases both Tom and his father, Alec (Brian Cox), a successful businessman who believes Chris has a bright future in his firm. However, Chris also feels an overwhelming attraction to Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), a sexy blonde from the United States who is dating Tom. Though Nola initially puts up some resistance, Chris gently nudges her in the direction of an affair. Passion soon ignites between the two, and they have a one-time sexual encounter, even as Chris and Chloe plan their wedding. Nola resists, however, when Chris makes additional attempts to wheedle her into bed. Nola drops out of Chris's life shortly before his wedding, but a chance meeting a few months later resurrects the relationship as Chris and Chloe try to start a family. Match Point received its world premiere in an enthusiastically received presentation at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This lean, mean, surprisingly sultry thriller about fate, luck, greed and guilt is Woody Allen's best since "Mighty Aphrodite." Plus, it boasts a vintage-Allen metaphor of a bobbling tennis ball that, in a great gotcha scene, becomes a damning motif.

Audience Reviews for Match Point

½

Fascinating take on Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment where Woody Allen... who am I kidding... Scarlett Johansson. That is all.

Jason Robinson

Super Reviewer

This film features what is probably my favourite Scarlett Johansson performance, darkly sexy, and the film takes full advantage of the emerging (at the time) actors in its cast, including Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emily Mortimer and Matthew Goode. In addition to its noirish plot, there's an engaging story about social class that bubbles to the surface, and the movie's tone is consistent, amping up the drama of each successive action. Many called Match Point a return to form for Allen, (after his moribund late-90s), and I have to say, I agree; the hunger with which this film was produced shines through, leaving a primal document, in the end, with a climax that's (overused word alert) riveting... actually riveting. It's a film unlike pretty much anything else Woody has done... so even if you're not a fan, you should probably see it.

Daniel Perry

Super Reviewer

The opening sequence is probably one of the most philosophical ones director Woody Allen has created over the years. Its smart and stands apart from Allen's other films. For a different Woody Allen, congrats.

paul oh

Super Reviewer

½

If I'm not mistaken, I do believe this this is my first time seeing one of Woody Allen's purely dramatic films. And I must say, I'm not disappointed. My viewing experienced was a bit tarnished by a few unfortunate interruptions, so perhas I should rewatch it, but nonetheless, I found this to be a really engrossing film.
Chris is a recently retired tennis player who fidns himself among the upper crust of British society after he mankes friends with a guy named Tom. Chris begins a relationship with Tom's older sister Chloe and eventually begins an affair with Tom's fiancee Nola- an American who's a struggling actress. That's the basic set up: guy has an affair and tries his best to keep his life from unraveling as a result of all that is going on around him such as his becoming a workaholic and him and his wife havign difficulty conceiving a child.
While the broad plot is nothing new, the way it is done feels fresh and seems spectacular, because that's how strong of a filmmaker Allen is. The film seemed very literary and operatic toi me, and indeed opera palys a huge role, as does literature, as research tells me this is Allen's take on Crime and Punishment, as well as a call back to his earleir film Crimes and Misdemeanors. When this came out, it marked a change of pace for olel Woody as it was his first time working with a predominately non-American cast, his first time working with Scarlett Johansson, and his first film done in the U.K.
It's also rather dark, and frankly rather nihilistic, especially towards the end. This caught me off guard a bit, but I think this was a neat way to handle things. It also comes off as more classy and intelligent than most films that deal with this sort of subject matter, but it could just be because it's Woody. Who knows?
The cast are quite good. Johansson is terrific as always, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is really wonderful, and Emily Mortimer and Matthew Goode are both pretty decent. Putting in a nice little supporting role is Brian Cox, and he's always a good choice, so props there as well. I've never really found Allen's films to be all that showy or stylistic from a cinematic perspective a la Mann or Scorsese, for example, but the sequence involving murder and the escape really floored me, and is a nice little stirring and rather brilliant piece of work in and of itself. In fact, besides getting interrupted a few times, my only real complaint is the inclusion of the dream sequence stuff near the end. It's not bad, but it inda took me out of the moment and I don't think it worked as well as it should have. Maybe it should have just been left out or that sort of thing should have been done throughout the whole film.
All in all, this is quite a film. Here's to hoping Allen's previous dramatic works (or predominately dramatic ones like this) and any he does from now on are as strong as this. Definitely give this one a look.

Match Point Quotes

Chris Wilton:

The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose.

Nola Rice:

He saw me across the room and he honed in on me like a guided missile.